Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said a €30m top-up to the fertiliser support scheme is a “clear” priority as he negotiates on behalf of farmers ahead of Budget 2027.
The Minister said he is pushing to have the scheme topped up to its full permissible amount, about €45m, as budget talks intensify.
“There is the crisis reserve or the emergency support that [European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food] Christophe Hansen announced over the summer, which works out at €15.3m support for Irish farmers in the area of fertiliser and increased costs as result of the conflict in the Middle East,” he said.
“There is the capability of member states to top that up to 200%.
“I’ve been clear that that is part of my budget asks and my budget negotiations are ongoing with [Minister for Public Expenditure] Jack Chambers.”
Farm organisations have been lobbying the Government to top up the scheme in full, by about €30m, to the full €45m.
Payments under the support scheme could be based on fertiliser product purchased by farmers and registered on the National Fertiliser Database.
With the current €15.3m, it is estimated that farmers could receive a payment of up to €11.40/t, but if the support scheme fund was added to, payments could become significantly higher.
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